Manufacture of structural beams.



No. 667,l98. Patented Feb. 5, I9UI. c. F. DICKINSON.

MANUFACTURE OF STRUCTURAL BEAMS.

(Applicstion filed Fb. 24, 1900.

(No Model.)

Wilgasszs NITEEV CHARLES F. DICKINSON, OF WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA.

MANUFACTURE OF STRUCTURAL BEAMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 667,198, dated February5, 1901.

Application filed February 24, 1900. Serial No. 6,391. (No specimens.) I

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, CHARLES E. DICKINSON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Wheeling, in the county of Ohio and State of WestVirginia, have invented a new and useful Method for TreatingRailroad-Rails, &c., of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a method of making various forms of ironworkmembers or beams outof iron and steel railroad or car rails whether thelatter be new, discarded, or second-hand or scrap rails, or what iscommonly known as seconds in rail-mills; and the object of the same isto cheaply and economically produce Various forms of beams by a simpleand effective operation and preserve and protect the original flange ofthe rails at the time the several rails are treated and when joined toconstruct different forms of beams by utilizing a welding heat and apressure or blow, and, furthermore, to avoid all rolling, molding, andmechanical coupling operations and devices, as well as dispense with theuse of steel billets, pig-iron, or other primary new material or stock,as in ordinary manufactures of ironwork beams or members.

The invention consists in the several steps which will be more fullyhereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a railroad-rail. Fig.2 is a similar view of a rail as it appears after the tread projectionsor balls have been removed by one step of the improvement and forming aT- beam. Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing the manner of protecting therail-flange during the heating operation previous to welding tworail-sections together and of holding the railsections in positive shapeduring the welding step to produce another form of beam. Fig. 4.-is adetail sectional view of an I-beam formed by my improved method. Fig. 5is a detail sectional view of a Z-beam formed by my improved method.Fig. 6 is a-detail sectional view of a channel-iron made from theprepared rail, as shown by Fig. 2.

The first step of the method is to remove the lateral projections 0rballs of the tread portion of the rail without the use of heat or theoperation of a rolling mechanism, and to accomplish this the rail ofwhatever character to be treated is placed in a metal-planing machinesubjected to the action of a cold saw or any other apparatus that has acutting operation analogous to that set forth. In removing the lateralprojections or balls of the tread the ordinary web of a railroad-rail isincreased in width by cutting off the parts stated inwardly to the planeof the opposite faces of the web, and thereby obtain the ad ditionalextension provided by the usual vertical thickness of the tread portionof a rail. In the use of railroad-rails for forming ironwork members orbeams as heretofore practiced it has been common to Work the railthrough a rollingmill and generally reorganize its structure and in someinstances to entirely out 01f the tread portion of the rail, and therebylose the extension of what afterward becomes the stem of the beam. Inother operations mechanical coupling devices have been directly rivetedor bolted over the abutting tread portions of rail-sections; but thishas produced a highly inefficient article in 'view of the fact that thetwo tread-surfaces would form a movable bearing and soon work the rivetsor bolts loose and render the beam or member so constructed ofverylittle value from a practical standpoint. It will be observed thatin removing the lateral tread projections or balls of the rails whilecold and in accordance with my method the metal of the rail is not inthe least changed or weakened and a material saving in materialresults-by utilizing the extra metal between the lateral treadprojections or balls. Moreover, the portions that are cut off can bedisposed of by the manufacturer with profit, and the first cost of therails used in forming the beams will be essentially red uced. The beamresulting from the removal of the lateral tread projections or balls ofthe rail can be used alone for many purposes without any furthertreatment, or the flanges of two of the rails thus prepared can beplaced back to back and securely bolted or otherwise fastened, and thusproduce another combination and a different form of beam or support.Furthermore, a plurality of the beams thus prepared can have theirflanges or the original railflange disposed at an angle to each otherand the edges joined to thus produce an effective column, and thesecombinations could be carried on indefinitely, as will be obviouslyapparent.

Though the rail as prepared and shown by Fig. 2 may be used alone, asindicated, the progressive steps of the method contemplate theproduction of a more serviceable and desirable combination, and afterthe rail has been subjected to the cold-cutting operation to remove thetread projections or balls the rail-sections are then inclosed withinsuitable metallic casings l, which are case-hardened and made insections, so that they can be easily applied or withdrawn ordisconnected from the stock being operated upon. In arranging theprepared rails in these casings the original rail-flanges are fullyinclosed and completely protected and the extended web or stem is leftprojecting a suitable distance from one side of each casing. Two ofthese casings are applied over as many prepared rails which are to bejoined, and after being firmly clamped or locked the said casingscarrying the prepared rails are inserted in a furnace and subjected to ahigh heat or of adegree sufficient to permit a practical weldingoperation to be pursued. It will be seen that the flange of eachprepared rail will be prevented from burning off or losing its shape byreason of the inclosure within the casing, and, moreover, the saidprepared section will be retained in its shape and prevented frombuckling or twisting by the action of the heat. The casing will have itsexterior portion intensely heated,and this heat will extend partiallyinto the body of the casing, but will not be of sufficient degree at thecore or adjacent the inclosed portion of the prepared rail to have anyinjurious effect on the latter whatever. After the projecting portionsof the webs or stems have been heated sufliciently the two casings arewithdrawn from the furnace and the edges or exposed ends of the saidwebs or stems are brought to bear against each other and so held duringthe third step of Welding, which may be carried on by any of thewell-known processes and in any preferred manner. During the weldingoperation the rail-sections in the casings will still have their shapepreserved, and after a practical jointure has been effected thecasingsare removed and the resultant product will be what is known as anI-beam. From this latter product a number of other different beams maybe made, and by cutting off one-half of the flange at top and bottom onopposite sides the Z-beam (illustrated by Fig. 5) is made, or by cuttingofi the upper and lower flanges on the same side the channeliron (shownby Fig. 6) will result, and it is obvious that by placing two of thechannelirons together and bolting the same a very strong and durablecompound girder or upright can be produced.

It is well known that a welded device will invariably first fracture orbreak at any other point thanthe line of weld or jointure, and byuniting two of the prepared rail-sections in the manner set forth anexceptionally strong ironwork member or. beam will be produced, and inaddition care will be taken in all the steps of the method to avoiddetracting in the least from the desirable properties andcharacteristics as to strength and durability of railroad-rails andwhich arises from their original manufacture. Hence the treadprojections or balls are removed by cold-cutting, and in heating thesections to join them the degree of heat employed will be that necessaryfor welding only, and therefore the hardness of the metal will not inthe least be affected. In carrying out the steps of the method it isproposed to use any desired apparatus or machinery best adapted for thepurpose, and the casings for holding the prepared rail-sections duringthe heating step may be varied indefinitely.

It will be understood that the beams will vary in size and weightproportionately to the size and weight of the rails from which they areformed, and forms of beams or members other than those mentioned maybeproduced at will without departing from the several steps disclosed. Thecheapness of the character of the railroad-rails used in forming thebeams and the simplicity and inexpensive character of the method pursuedwill materially reduce the cost of manufacture of ironwork members orbeams. Moreover, the simplicity of the method will result in a quickproduction, and as the quantity of railroad-rails of the character setforth is almost inexhaustible the manufacturer employing the foregoingmethod will not be confronted with the serious difficulty incident to ascarcity of material or stock.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is- 1. Themethod of forming ironwork members or beams consisting in longitudinallyremoving the lateral portions or projections of the treads or heads ofrailroad-rails to the plane of the opposite sides of the Web by acold-cutting operation without preliminary heating of the rails toincrease the width of the web to normal depth of said treads or heads,inclosing portions of the rails so prepared to preserve their shape andsubjecting them to a welding heat, and Welding the eX- posed heatedportions.

2. The method of forming ironwork members or beams consisting inlongitudinally removing the lateral portions or projections of thetreads or heads of railroad-rails to the plane of the opposite sides of.the web by a cold-cutting operation without preliminary heating of therails to increase the width of the Web to the normal depth of saidtreads or heads, inclosing the flanges and portions of the webs of therails so prepared to preserve their shape and subjecting the exposedportions of the Webs to a welding heat, and directly joining the exposededges of the webs of the heated rail-sections while still inclosed inpart and welding the said edges.

3. The method of forming ironwork members or beams from railroad-railsconsisting in longitudinally removing the lateral portions orprojections of the treads or heads of the same to the plane of theopposite sides of the web by a cold-cutting operation withoutpreliminary heating of the rails to increase the Width of the web to thenormal depth of said treads or heads, removing one of the flanges by acold-cutting operation, in-

closing portions of two distinct rail-sections 7 CHARLES F. DICKINSON.

Witnesses:

OHAs. S. HYER, H. PERRY HAHN.

